We’re supporting young people through our new children’s book.
Our children’s story book, Sir Port, has been developed with New Zealand author Pauline McLeod and helps children in rural communities develop vital resilience skills and a positive attitude towards change.
The book is supported by the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust and follows the adventures of Sir Port, the beloved family dog, during a particularly heavy flood that causes havoc on the farm.
The story focuses on three generations of the family – the son, Oliver; his mother and father; and their Granny – and shows how they respond during the flood, taking care of their animals and focusing on a brighter day tomorrow when the sun rises again.
The book has been developed in response to changes across British agriculture – including transformative policy changes, the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union and climate change – to help young children understand the stress uncertainty can cause families and help them develop a positive way of interpreting this.
It also encourages children to keep a ‘Joy Jar’ and fill it with positive thoughts, feelings and memories that bring them comfort. In reading this story together parents, families and children have created their own Joy Jars, filling it with positive actions that give them a jolt of joy. Parents often pick up on the message by reading this story to their children and introduce a Joy Jar as part of a daily or weekly habit.
“Our two children love the Sir Port story, it relates so well with the struggles farming families deal with day to day. It’s wonderfully illustrated throughout, a perfect story before bed” – Daniel, Cumbria
To request physical copies email help@fcn.org.uk. FCN would request a donation is made to help cover the cost of physical prints and postage.
Listen to the Sir Port audiobook below: